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Next Up: Luton Town vs Exeter City

Another season has flown by, this one will probably be remembered more for City actually remembering the cups have a second (and third) round and playing at two of the biggest grounds in the country, along with a delicious six points gained from that lot down the A38 than for a league season punctuated by another season of abject failure at home bolstered by superb away form. Paul Tisdale’s tenth season at City closes with a trip to a ground which witnessed a memorable display last season. There was a hint at experimentation during last week’s forgettable 1-1 draw with Morecambe with the two Jordans in midfield and Tom McCready being given a start at full back, and it’s likely that Tisdale will use the final match to do likewise with fringe players like Manny Oyeleke and Jamie Reid itching to play some part.

Having once again taken a gamble in the transfer market by signing the likes of Craig Mackail-Smith and Josh McQuoid, big things were expected of a Luton side that fell away badly last term, but John Still was unable to turn things around and paid with his job, which went to a man immortalised by The Supremes and Bananarama, Nathan Jones. While there have been signs of improvement under Jones he was unable to mould the Hatters into a side challenging for the playoffs, leaving them, like City, as one of a number of sides bubbling under in mid-table. The big names to emerge from what has been an uninspiring season have been Jack Marriott (14 goals in all competitions) and Cameron McGeehan (13), the latter, like Ollie Watkins, having had the PFA Young Player of the Month award bestowed upon him.

There was a hint of controversy about the reverse fixture before Christmas as a hotly disputed goal deep into injury time from 83 year old Paul Benson sealed a 3-2 win for the visitors – McGeehan and Green had given Luton a 2-0 lead in the first half, cancelled out by goals from Nichols and Nicholls before Benson’s late intervention. It was the same scoreline on Good Friday last season – Luton again went 2-0 up through Guttridge and Cullen before an epic second half fightback saw City snatch victory through Harley, Moore-Taylor and Wheeler. Luton have a comfortable Football League head to head lead however, with 24 wins to City’s 11 (12 draws).